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{
    "id": 1381812,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1381812/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 314,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13599,
        "legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
        "slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
    },
    "content": "has proposed that because this is going to be a dispute resolution mechanism, a mediation committee set up to mediate a matter of dispute between counties on a matter regarding boundaries, then the person to chair it, should be a person with 15 years’ experience in ADR. I do not think that is a misplaced suggestion. In fact, that committee would benefit immensely by having somebody, not just any lawyer or one with two or three years’ experience, in mediation. Due to the complex issues that my colleagues have raised here, the Bill has provided for someone with 15 years in ADR. I have challenged my colleagues from other professions. If we can find a doctor, including a veterinary doctor or doctor of Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale’s calibre who can do a better job at a mediation meeting than a person with 15 years’ experience in ADR, by all means, I do not think the lawyers in this House would object. What we are saying is that nobody should paint the picture that lawyers are somehow imposing themselves in places where they are not needed. This is one of the areas where a person with that experience would benefit most immensely from the job he has been asked to do. Secondly, I have heard notions here expressed about whether Nairobi needs to continue as a county. Others have suggested rightly that Nairobi needs to be managed differently and that it should no longer be a county. For me, you have to go back to the process of the review of the Constitution. I was not there. Yes, I was still in university when some of my colleagues were doing Bomas and Naivasha. However, I have had the privilege of reading the final report of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC). If you read that final report, you will understand the thinking that went into every specific provision of the Constitution and the architecture that we ended up with. The concept or the idea behind devolution does not change based on where the person is where they live or the circumstances in which they live. The concept of devolution is to get services and resources to the lowest possible unit of administration. The lowest unit of administration exists just as much in Nairobi as it exists in Homa Bay where the sponsor of this Bill comes from. The people of Mukuru kwa Njenga would want direct access to resources and services just the way somebody in Kanyamwaa would insist on direct access to resources and services. They also want to see the Government. If you read the CKRC report, you will remember Kenyans saying that Government is a far-off notion to them. If you talk to our brothers and sisters from the northern frontier districts, they will tell you even people moving from Mandera and Garrissa counties coming to Nairobi used to say that now we are going to Kenya. It is because of devolution that places like Turkana, Mandera and Wajir saw the first kilometre of tarmac in their counties. So, nobody can argue that a Kenyan living in Nairobi does not deserve devolution. If you recall the reasons that have been advanced by my colleagues, especially the Mover of this Motion, Sen. Kajwang’, on why he thinks Nairobi needs to be managed differently, that matter has already been thought about. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services, Senate."
}